


New Clothes

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 07:23:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11939166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: After the druid meeting in which Justin was arrested, Louisa tries to comfort her girlfriend. Spoilers for those quests.





	New Clothes

"After you were rescued, Lisa, Anne was moved deeper into Pandoria to a more secure prison in a place where Garnok's influence is stronger. I have seen that she is being guarded by Garnok's most powerful Generals," said Fripp.

Louisa could see the impact those words had on Lisa the moment they were uttered. To her credit, though, Lisa didn't cry. Alex didn't look mad, either. She did look upset, but the sadness in her eyes was only momentary, replaced by the fire of determination.

"I don't care how hard we have to work or how far we have to go or how difficult it might be, we need to save her," said Alex. "We're this close."

"Could we open a portal at Guardian's Dale?" asked Louisa.

"No need," said Fripp, waving his paw to dismiss the notion. "There is a portal that will lead you right to her doorstep!"

"That sounds kinda dangerous," said Louisa. 

"I don't care how dangerous it is," said Alex. "How do we go there? What do we need to do?"

"Is it the Sacred Paths?" asked Linda. "I thought they were just a myth!"

"Ah, but you should know better by now, Linda," said Fripp. "After all, many believe the Soul Riders to be just a myth."

"Yeah, and we're pretty frickin' real," said Alex. She grinned, all but jumping for joy.

"I still need to organise some things, but you will be able to go on your first mission into Pandoria very soon," said Fripp.

"Yes!" Alex cheered. "Finally, we're going to save her!"

Lisa left the Secret Stone Circle as soon as the meeting ended, riding Starshine at a gallop through the portal. Louisa followed after her, knowing how distressed her girlfriend was. But when she appeared on the spiral path, Louisa found that she couldn't find her girlfriend. Goldmist looked around, and Louisa rode him down towards Valedale at a canter. She slowed to a trot as she went past the large rune stones, still lit up pink from when she'd discovered her magic so long ago. It brought back pleasant memories, but she couldn't dwell on that right now. Right now, her girlfriend needed her, and Louisa needed to find her.

Maybe Elizabeth had seen her. She hoped so. Louisa rode towards the little cottage, hoping that the druid was home.

"There she is," said Goldmist, pricking his ears up as he walked towards the cottage. There was another woman there too, standing on the other side of a blanket that Lisa was staring at.

"There you are," said Louisa, dismounting Goldmist and walking up to put an arm around her girlfriend.

"There's a new shop here," Lisa murmured, sounding numb. Louisa wrapped both arms around her girlfriend now, pulling Lisa into a tight embrace. At least she still had her girlfriend. She couldn't imagine how Z was feeling after seeing Justin arrested like that.

But Louisa knew exactly what was on Lisa's mind.

"You didn't know she was going to be moved," said Louisa. "You couldn't have known. And you already said that you asked the tree to save her too."

"But she's in an even worse situation now, and it's all my fault!" said Lisa, pulling away from her. Louisa's heart broke to see her like this, but someone had to be strong in this situation.

"Did you move her there yourself?" asked Louisa.

"No," said Lisa. "But I said a few more days couldn't hurt. Well, now I know it can hurt considering where she is. Garnok's influence... I don't know if she can survive that." She walked around Elizabeth's house and Louisa followed her, sitting at the picnic table on the other side of Elizabeth's house. Louisa took a seat opposite her, taking Lisa's hands in her own.

"You didn't know she was moved or where she was moved to," said Louisa.

"No, but I should've guessed!" said Lisa. "It's so obvious! Of course they'd move her, of course it'd be to a worse location, of course they'd notice something like me being freed!" She squeezed Louisa's hands tightly, and Louisa bit her lip and was glad that Lisa's nails were always bitten down to stubs.

"No one expected you to be thinking of all that," said Louisa. "When you were being rescued, how did you feel?"

"Guilty," said Lisa.

"No," said Louisa. "Apart from that. Describe it to me."

"How do you think?" said Lisa, closing her eyes against the tears. "Relieved. Scared. I didn't think it'd work, I thought it was just a trick, I thought I'd get to see Starshine and then be torn away from him like some cruel joke. I thought I'd never see daylight again. Never feel the wind in my hair, or the sun on my face, or Starshine beneath me, or the feeling of a guitar pick in my fingers. And I thought surely, surely this must be some trick. A taste of freedom, only to have it snatched away from me."

"But it was real," said Louisa. "All of this is real."

"I know that now," said Lisa. "And when I discovered that it was real, I just felt so damn guilty. Why should I be free when Anne remains in there? I was only there a few weeks, and she's been there for years, and I said she'd be fine." She said the last word like it was poison. "How could I say that?" She pulled her hands away, covering her face with them, and Louisa let her sob into her hands.

"Because you didn't know," said Louisa. "None of us knew."

"If Anne dies, that's on me," said Lisa. "And I know Alex blames me for the situation Anne's in now."

"No she doesn't," said Louisa.

"How do you know?" asked Lisa. "Did you ask her?"

"No, I came straight here," said Louisa. Lisa snorted, a wet sound.

"Didn't think so," said Lisa. "God, I'm glad she didn't hear me say that. But I also wish she had."

"Now isn't the time for the group to be divided," said Louisa, taking Lisa's wet hands in her own once again. "We have to be united."

"Well, that's kind of impossible, what with Anne being in an even worse prison now," said Lisa. "Thanks to me. This would be so easy if I hadn't been rescued."

"No, it wouldn't," said Louisa. "You told us where she is. That was the most important piece of knowledge we received."

"I wish I could trade places with her," said Lisa.

"Don't ever say that," said Louisa, squeezing Lisa's hands so hard that Lisa gasped in pain and tried to pull them away. "You're not leaving me again." Immediately, she felt bad for hurting her girlfriend and let go. "Sorry."

"No, I needed that," said Lisa. "And why am I feeling so down now? We're literally closer than we've ever been to rescuing her." She pulled her hands closer to her and rubbed them.

"I'll remember that," said Louisa. "Physical pain brings you out of a funk."

"Sometimes," said Lisa. "And I still feel guilty, but y'know what? I did help us."

And then Louisa saw a glimpse of gold, and braced herself.

"Well, you got your spine back just in time," said Louisa, fighting the urge to stand up and leave the area immediately. She hated conflict, but she had to support her girlfriend and stand with her against Alex's anger.

But to her surprise, Alex didn't look too angry as she dismounted Tin Can. She did look a little angry, though.

"It's fine," said Lisa, standing and moving around the table to face her friend. "We already had it out on the oil rig."

"No we didn't," said Alex. "You distracted me by changing the subject to something we can't discuss here."

"Well, now that we're so close, it's over now anyway, isn't it?" asked Lisa. "For real this time? Not like last time, where you said it was over and then she-"

"Shut up!" Alex hissed, glancing at the cottage. "God, at least your girlfriend knows how to keep her mouth shut."

"Well, if you'd been able to keep your legs shut, she wouldn't have to," said Lisa. Louisa expected Alex to slap Lisa for that remark, but she didn't.

"I know that!" Alex snapped at her. "But y'know what? I'm not the only one feeling guilty now, am I? You're the reason Anne was moved to a better-guarded prison in a worse part of Pandoria. You're the reason she's suffering so much now. And a few more days? A few days there could send her insane! I know what it did to you, and that was in a good part. If she ends up dead, before or after this mission, that's on your head."

"I know that," said Lisa. "But while I've been struggling with the guilt, you've been finding comfort under someone else."

"So you both feel guilty, stop trying to out-guilt the other!" said Louisa, finally finding the courage to step in. "Alex, that was really low of you to make her feel worse. She already feels bad enough. And she's right- while Anne's been suffering, you've been having a great time with someone else."

"Oh sure, take your girlfriend's side," said Alex.

"She's done nothing wrong! You have!" said Louisa. "Are you seriously trying to blame her for being rescued?"

"You were fine with it before," said Alex, sounding hurt.

"Yes, because that was before I knew what love was," said Louisa. "If you love someone, you don't sleep with someone else. I don't care what your excuse is, Alex, it's wrong."

"Would you prefer it if I went back to what I did before?" asked Alex. "Or if I took Lisa's route?"

"That was low, even for you," said Louisa. This felt wrong, they shouldn't be fracturing when they were on the verge of being truly united, and when the world depended on their getting along. Maybe Nihili was already out, spreading her influence. Or maybe this had been building for a while.

"Honesty, stop fighting," said a new voice. "You're Soul Riders, demigoddesses, stop bickering like children. Lisa, suck it up, you can feel guilty when you've actually done something wrong. Alex, stop seeking solace in the arms of another."

The girl who'd been standing on the other side of the blanket from the other side of Elizabeth's house was standing there, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Who are you?" asked Louisa, glad that this new girl had stepped in to stop the fight before it could escalate into full-blown war.

"Farrah," said the girl. "I have a little shop selling druid clothes. Would you like to peruse my wares?"

"Well, it's better than them fighting," said Louisa. "Sure." She got up from the table, wishing that her hands and legs would stop trembling, and walked over to the blanket where Farrah had set up shop.

Now it was Louisa's turn to stare numbly at the clothes, sniffing as she picked them up and felt the loose, soft fabric of the tunic and the stiffer fabric of the beanie. Her fingers stroked the little emblem on the green fabric.

She didn't speak as Lisa sat down beside her (she recognised the scent of Lisa's hair gel), but she did let Lisa wrap her arms around her in a hug.

"I'm sorry," said Lisa. Louisa wiped her eyes, putting down the beanie.

"So much for working things out with her," said Louisa. "And now I've probably lost her as a friend, too."

"Once we get Anne back, everything will be okay," said Lisa, rubbing her back. "And she'll get over it. Alex knows better than to let fights get in the way of the important things."

"You don't get it," said Louisa, finally turning to look at her. "Alex was my first friend on Jorvik. My best friend."

"And was your friendship based entirely on keeping her secret?" asked Lisa.

"No," said Louisa. "But I know how important it is to her."

"Look, she's probably been feeling like that for a long time," said Lisa. "You just told her the truth."

"I wouldn't blame her if she never forgave me," said Louisa.

"She'll get over it," said Lisa, kissing her cheek. "Don't worry. Would some retail therapy help?"

"Oh, it absolutely will," said Farrah, nodding.

"Fine," said Louisa, feeling a little lighter already.

The new clothes felt very nice against Louisa's skin, and she even managed a smile as she rode through the Hollow Woods with Lisa. It would be okay.


End file.
